City of Guelph

As Mayor, many people have asked me today what my thoughts were on the Federal Government budget released yesterday. And, any thoughts on how Guelph fits into it?

My initial thoughts are that this budget is positive for families, seniors, businesses and municipalities.

The headline grabber for me, is the proposed surplus that is projected by the government. How it was achieved can be questioned, and will be questioned all day long, but a surplus if achieved is a good thing. The deficit has been reduced from $55.6 billion at the height of the global economic and financial crisis to a projected surplus of $1.4 billion for 2015–16.

For families, I see income-splitting and I see claims to provide assistance to families through tax relief by increasing the limits on tax free savings accounts to $10,000. They are reaffirming a commitment to reduce employment insurance premiums in 2017 and extending Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefits from 6 weeks to 6 months to support Canadians providing care for family members. However this will cost $37 million annually.

Businesses seems to a winner as well. Especially with the continued breaks in taxes to small business as it proposes to reduce the tax rate from 11% to 9% by 2019. Manufacturing receives up to $100 million over 5 years, starting in 2015-2016, to support product development and technology by Canadian auto parts suppliers through a new Automotive Supplier Innovation Program. Yet some of the funds will come from the existing Automotive Innovation Fund. We have a large manufacturing sector in Guelph, and in the automotive category, so this I’m sure will be of interest to them.

Seniors and persons with accessibility issues get a new tax credit to retrofit their homes.

Also, AMO has stated this below about transit commitments found in this budget:

Highlights for Municipal Governments:

Commitment to create a new permanent Public Transit Fund for expanding infrastructure in major mass transit systems across Canada. The fund will start in 2017-18 with $750 million over two years and increase to $1 billion annually thereafter. Funding design and eligibility are not yet known.

So there are some initial thoughts on what was presented. I am now awaiting the next budget from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and I will share my thoughts on that with you as well.

Hello #Guelph – Just thought I’d share important details of the week ahead! Your feedback & engagement is important and always welcome!

Monday:

2pm – Meeting with Premier Kathleen Wynne to discuss economic development and jobs.

6pm – Special Council Meeting at city hall – Meeting room C – to discuss the council shared agenda for this term. (This is extremely important so please look at this link and send comments to myself and your councillors about what we’re looking at doing over this term for you and our city! The link is HERE.)

Tuesday:

9am – Upper Grand School Board Management and Ministry Conference

10am – Helping out the Guelph General Hospital with fundraising – Advertising

The above screw is from the Niska Road Bridge. This is why it needs to be repaired. Because I’d rather have this in my hand – not my tire or yours.

Guelph, ON, April 14, 2015—Following a recent inspection, deck boards on the Niska Road bridge will be replaced beginning April 20. These repairs will keep the bridge in service while the City completes the Environmental Assessment and determines a permanent solution for Niska Road and the bridge.

“During regular spring road patrols, City staff noticed flaws in the deck boards on the Niska Road bridge,” noted Kealy Dedman, General Manager Engineering and Capital Infrastructure Services. “A bridge management consultant was hired to assess damage to the deck and recommended replacement of the boards.”

Temporary repairs were completed on March 9 and April 1, 2015.

The bridge will be closed for repairs from April 20 to May 1, 2015. During the bridge closure and repairs, the scheduled 2015 bridge condition assessment will be undertaken.

It was in recognition of World Autism Day. There are many kids with Autism who deal with bullying and social isolation. There are many families working hard to provide the best life for their children, while at the same time navigating complex education and health care systems.

Today is a good reminder of how important it is to ensure that people with Autism and their families have access to the services they need ,whether it’s early intervention programs; proper educational supports; or access to information and support networks.

I want to thank the Wellington Chapter of Autism Ontario for all the work you do to raise awareness and provide resources in our community.

Thank you to all the teachers, therapists, doctors, coaches, and others who work to provide excellent services and supports for children with ASD.

And, thank you to all the parents and families who are tireless advocates for your children.

Cam

Here are some stats below that our community should be aware of:

• Autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common developmental disabilities.

• In Ontario, there are an estimated 100,000 people with ASD.

• Tremendous stress is placed on families when raising children with ASD.

• Early intervention is critical to the development of all children on the autism spectrum.

• In some places in Ontario it can take up to four years to receive a diagnosis of ASD.

• ASD doesn’t go away in adulthood; the system must be responsive to the needs of children transitioning into adulthood.

In an effort to continue Guelph’s long history of forward thinking waste and recycling management, the city is pleased to now be offering waste bins at strategic locations throughout the city to offer a separate bin for Nickleback albums.

The neon green bins (as seen above) will be available for Nickleback drop off between April 1st and Oct 1st, 2015. Locations are City Hall on Carden St., the West End Centre & the city waste resource centre.

“This pilot project will continue to help in our diversion rate from landfill” said Mayor Guthrie. “Too often we found that there was an enormous amount of Nickleback albums being sent to landfill. Yet when we found out the that the city of Owen Sound, home of the OHL team the Attack, loves to listen to Nickleback songs every hour of everyday, we knew Guelph residents would do the right thing by recycling them to send to Owen Sound.”

Manager of Waste services hailed the pilot project as “another win for our city”. “This initiative will create efficiencies within our department. Sometimes our staff would listen to Nickleback and then start arguing amongst themselves if they were listening to the same song on repeat. One employee saying its a different song from a different album but another employee would passionately debate that the song is from a different album all together. It was getting out of control.”

It is expected with the removal of these albums it will increase productivity and bring employee wellness to new heights.